- Disney’s live action Snow White film releases this month
- The film has been shrouded in controversies
- Early box office predictions claim to know how the film’s success rate
Disney’s live action Snow White starring Rachel Zegler is set for release later this month.
Its arrival comes amid a cloud of controversies. Some of these began before the film even entered production. Now, with just a few days to go before it Hi-Ho’s its way into cinemas, box office predictions don’t look good.
Read more: Why has Disney pulled back the Snow White premiere?
The movie is Disney’s latest attempt at transforming its iconic animated back catalogue into the 3D realm of live action. Webb’s movie stars West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler as its eponymous heroine opposite Gal Gadot’s evil queen.
Meanwhile, the movie’s dwarf characters will be brought to live via CGI animation.
Director Marc Webb’s film is set to hit cinemas on Friday 21 March. However, according to Forbes, its box office projections have taken a turn.
Snow White box office projections
According to industry analytic site The Quorum, long-lead projections saw the movie on track to earn between $63-$70 million in its first three days.
These projections were from early February and based on the movie opening on 4000 North American screens.
Soon after, Box Office Pro pushed its opening weekend odds up towards the $80 million mark. However, as Forbes points out, things have started to slide since February. Snow White’s opening weekend projections slipped to £53 million before diving to as low as $50 million as of Sunday 16 March.
For reference, many outlets claim that the movie’s budget was somewhere in the range of $240 and $270 million.
What are the controversies? A brief explainer
The controversies surrounding Disney’s live action Snow White are extensive. Some began before the film entered production, specifically when Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage expressed confusion at Hollywood’s determination to tell this tale using actors with dwarfism.
Meanwhile, some fans took issue with Zegler – an actress of Latin ethnicity – playing a character who has been described as having “skin as white as snow.”
Whilst battling hate online, Zegler inadvertently angered fans further when she questioned the role of Snow White’s savior prince in a modern retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm tale.
In addition to posting some anti-Trump social media posts, Zegler has also found herself at odds with her co-star Gadot, with both sharing opposing political opinions regarding the ongoing Israeli and Palestine conflict.
